Apparatus for winding an insulation ply

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to an apparatus for winding a ply of an insulating material on to a core (8) to form a chute. The apparatus comprises a movable, endless belt (1) which is bent around the core for the time of the winding, so that the insulating material ply is wound between the core and the belt. In order to wind insulating chutes of greatly varying diameter within a space as small as possible, a turnable means (10) is provided outside both edges of the belt in the winding area of the belt, so that they turn perpendicularly to the plane of the belt between a position of readiness and a winding position. The belt (1) is arranged to pass via a roll (19) mounted between said turnable means (10) so as to follow their movement. The roll (19) is displaceable between a receiving/delivering position and a winding position of the core (8). Means (15, 16) are provided in connection with the turnable means (10) for displacing an empty core (8) from the receiving position to the winding position and for displacing a wound core (9) from the winding position to the delivering position.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to an apparatus for winding a ply of aninsulating material on to a core to form a chute, comprising a movable,endless belt arranged to be bent around the core for the time of thewinding so that the insulating material ply can be wound on to the corebetween it and the belt.

The winding of insulating material plies often forms part of a processfor the manufacture of insulating chutes, wherein cores with insulationmaterial wound thereon are cured; the cured insulation, is possiblycoated with an aluminium foil, for instance; the insulation is sawedopen into a chute; and the chutes are removed from the cores, whereafterthe empty cores are recycled to the winding step. In general, the coresare transported by an endless conveyor.

In prior art apparatuses, the winding is carried out while the core ispositioned on the conveyor. Previously, the lever movements required forbending the belt of the winding means around the core have been long andhave required plenty of space. Variation in the chute diameter has beenpossible within very narrow limits only.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The object is to provide a new insulation winding apparatus whicheliminates the above-mentioned drawbacks and, in particular, is suitablefor winding insulation chutes of widely varying diameters.

The winding apparatus according to the invention is mainly characterizedin that in the winding area of the belt, outside both edges of the belt,is provided a means turning perpendicularly to the plane of the beltbetween a position of readiness and a winding position; that the belt isarranged to pass via a roll mounted on the turnable means so as tofollow their movement, said roll being displaceable between twopositions at different distances from the turning shaft of the turnablemeans, the position closer to the turning shaft being the windingposition of said roll; and that means are provided in connection withthe turnable means for displacing an empty core from a receivingposition to a winding position and for displacing a wound core from thewinding position to a delivering position.

In a preferred embodiment, the winding position of the core is inalignment with the turning shaft of the turnable means, whereat thediameter of the wound core can be varied conveniently within widelimits.

Further preferred embodiments of the winding apparatus appear from thefollowing description, in which a preferred embodiment shownschematically in the attached drawing is referred to, by way of example.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side view of the winding apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a vertical section along the line II--II in FIG. 1.

FIGS. 3 to 13 show the main steps of the winding process seen from theside.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In the drawing, the reference numeral 1 designates an endless windingbelt; and 2 designates a drive roll for the belt 1. The referencenumerals 3 and 4 designate fixedly mounted turning rolls which rotatepassively; 5 designates a working cylinder the piston rod of which isprovided with a turning roll 6 for maintaining the desired tightness ofthe belt. The single drive roll 2 could be replaced with, e.g., threedrive rolls provided with a common chain drive and arranged principallyin the same way as the rolls 2, 6 and 4 shown in the drawing, whereby animproved friction transmission is provided when the belt 1 is loose.

The reference numeral 7 designates a so called main conveyor commonlyused in the manufacture of chutes; 8 designates an empty coretransported to the winding apparatus; and 9 designates a core with aninsulation wound thereon when it is being transported to a curing step,for instance.

The reference numeral 10 designates two discs rotatable on a bearing 12of a shaft 11 by means of a chain transmission 14 driven by a motor 13.A pneumatic or hydraulic cylinder 15 is fastened to each disc 10, and asupport 16 engageable with a journal 8' of the core 8 is provided in theend of the piston rod of each cylinder 15. While resting on thesupports, the core 8 is displaceable from the plane of the main conveyor7 to the plane of the shaft of the discs 10; the last-mentioned positionis designated with the reference numeral 8a.

Two rolls 17 and 20 are mounted in bearings to the discs 10, and arms 18are attached to the ends of the shaft of the roll 17. Further, a roll 19movable between a position close to the periphery of the disc 10 and aposition close to the centre of the disc is mounted in bearings to oneend of each arm 18. When the roll 19 moves, the roll 17 acts as a joint;the position of the movable roll 19 close to the centre of the disc isindicated with broken lines in FIG. 1. The belt 1 moves between thediscs.

In the following, the main steps of the winding process are describedwith reference to FIGS. 3 to 13.

In FIG. 3, the situation is the same as in FIG. 1, that is, an emptycore 8 has arrived at the winding means and it has been displaced on tothe supports 16 at the end of the piston rods of the lifting cylinders15, whereafter the cylinders 15 start to displace the core towards thecentre of the discs 10.

After the core 8 has been displaced to the position shown in FIG. 4, itis stopped momentarily, whereafter the discs 10 start to turnanti-clockwise, while the movement of the core towards the centre of thediscs is continued.

In FIG. 5, the discs 10 have turned through 90°, and the core 8 ispositioned about midway between the periphery and the centre of thediscs. The belt 1 makes contact with the core 8, and the roll 17likewise makes contact with the belt 1.

In FIG. 6, the discs have turned through 180°, and the core 8 has beendisplaced to the centre of the discs 10, that is, preferably inalignment with the turning shafts 11 of the discs. The roll 20 mountedto the discs 10 makes contact with the belt 1.

In FIG. 7, the roll 19 has been displaced towards the centre of thediscs, into contact with the core 8.

Thereafter the winding of a ply 22 of a wool material is started asshown in FIG. 8, whereby the roll 19 yields. The roll 19 can be moved,e.g., by means of a pneumatic cylinder not shown in the drawing, and apredetermined counterpressure may prevail in the pneumatic cylinder. Thewinding is continued until a desired thickness is achieved, whereafterthe ply is cut off. The desired thickness can be determined, e.g., onthe basis of the displacement of the belt, or if a thin chute is to beobtained, the ply can be cut into a determined length in advance.

In FIG. 9, the winding process has been completed, and the discs 10start to turn clockwise, and the cylinders 15 displace the core with aninsulation 9' back towards the periphery of the discs 10, as appearsfrom FIGS. 10 to 13. In the position of FIG. 12, the displacing movementstops momentarily, and the discs 10 stop, whereafter the cylinders 15lift the core 8 with the insulation 9' back on to the conveyor 7.

The turning angle of the discs 10 varies with the diameter of the core.If the diameter of the core 8 is small, the turning angle of the discsvaries from about 130° to about 150° when the core is in the windingposition near to or in alignment with the shafts 11 of the discs 10.With large-diameter cores, the turning angle of the discs 10correspondingly varies from about 210° to about 240°. The turning angleof 180° of the discs in the drawing is possible with one specific corediameter only. The turning angle of the discs is a determined functionof the core diameter, and the turning angles for different corediameters can be precomputed. Further, the stopping of the discs at theright position in each particular case can be ensured by means of anangle gauge known per se.

I claim:
 1. Apparatus for winding a ply of an insulating material onto acore to form a chute, comprising:first and second spaced apart supportmembers, said support members being generally parallel to each other andsupported for rotating movement about a common axis between a readyposition and an operation position; a moveable endless belt supportedfor movement along a path located between the support members; coreengaging means located adjacent the support members and moveablerelative thereto for engaging empty cores and moving an empty core to acore winding position wherein the core is generally co-axial with saidcommon axis, and for moving a wound core from the core winding positionto a core discharge position; and a roller mounted on the supportmembers and moveable relative thereto, to engage the endless belt and tomove the belt (i) to a position extending around the core in the windingposition, wherein the belt guides the insulating material ply onto oneof the cores to form a chute thereon, and (ii) away from the core in thewinding position.
 2. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:thesupport members rotate through a given angle as the support membersrotate from the ready position to the operating position; and the valueof the given angle increases as the diameters of the empty coresincrease.
 3. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the coreengaging means is mounted on the first and second support members and isadapted to move the cores to and away from the core winding positionwhile the support members rotate between the ready and operatingpositions.